Hiya peeps! Please help me!

[kpuppies12]

HI! I am new here. I came here because I need to make a map of a world for my story that I am writing. I don't have Photoshop or anything, and I was wondering how I should make my map. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you want to read my story, or what I have of it so far, email me at kaileypuppies@yahoo.com. I love to write but if I ever publish this book I want it to have a map, and I am not sure how to make one! Please help!

[Ascension]

My best advice for anyone is to do this: close your eyes, relax, breath, and think. Think about what sort of places the people are going to go to...desert dunes, frigid polar regions, jungles with gorillas, etc. Once you have it in your mind these sorts of things, think about how long it will take to travel to each place. Now you know what the continent should have...what sort of areas need to be there and how far apart they should be. Open your eyes and sketch something, anything, on paper. It doesn't have to look great but should look more than just a giant circle that says "world". Look at some other maps to see what coastlines look like...all jagged and in and out with weird shapes. Try to sketch something really jagged like broken glass pieces. Then go back and add detail. Then add more detail...refine refine refine until you get something that you like.

Now that you have a shape go back and put in things like rivers, mountains, forests, and canyons. If you find that things are too close together and don't fit the story quite right, just refine the coast somewhere to make it fit. When all else fails, ask one of us to draw ya something

[arsheesh]

If you are curious about mapping software, there are several discussions about this topic floating around the forum somewhere, however I would suggest starting out by reading Ravell's "Quickstart guide to fantasy mapping" sticky located at the top of the member's introduction forum. This little post covers most of the basic issues that you should be aware of when starting out. My own preference is to use GIMP, a freeware program that you can download for free here. Also, take a peek at the tutorials section as well, there are allot of great walk throughs that can help you get on your way.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[Steel General]

Welcome Aboard!

[NeonKnight]

Welcome to the Guild!

[kpuppies12]

Thank you guys, I will check out the links. You're all awesome. Those were really helpful. Thanks so much!!!

-KPuppies